At the 31st Olympic Games in Rio de Janeirio,  Northeast Indian  gymnast attained a spot in the Indian history of the Olympics by securing eighth place in the final tryouts . She will compete with seven other gymnasts in  the individual vault final in artistic gymnastics.

Dipa, from Tripura, became the first Indian gymnast to enter the final at the Olympics games when she finished eighth in the qualifying round. This is the first time she is competing on the world stage.

She performed her much-appreciated ‘ Produnova’ vault cleanly to secure 14.850 points after two attempts. Named after Yelena Produnova, this move is considered very dangerous as a slight miscalculation could land the gymnast with serious injuries or even death. Produnova is a rare move.  Dipa is only the fifth Gymnast to have attempted this routine.

Three-time world all-round champion Simone Biles topped the charts with a sensational score of 16.050. The American scored a brilliant 9.700 on execution in both her attempts. North Korea’s Jong Un Hong was a distant second after securing 15.683 followed by Switzerland’s Giulia Steingruber (15.266).

Dipa, the first Indian woman gymnast to win a medal the last Commonwealth Games, stood a poor 47th in the all-round standings with a combined score of 51.665.

“I learnt it in 2014. I knew I had to take a risk but I was not afraid to perform it,” said Karmaker as reported by an English daily.

Dipa attempts Produnova because it can get her bigger points and a chance to enter the finals of tournaments,” says Dipa’s coach, Bishweshwar Nandi. “It is a risk that we have to take. We will not change her vault.”

(Prepared from media sources by Seema Kumari)

  Dipa Karmakar, Rio Olympics